Short Rules on Price Reduction Campaign in Ukraine

There are price reduction (discounts) campaigns and sales campaigns in Ukraine. Price reduction occurs when certain goods are offered at reduced prices, whereas sales occur when all goods are offered at reduced prices.

Price reduction announcements must contain information about the place, date of beginning and end of the price reduction or the sales, as well as the ratio of the discount to the previous selling price of the goods.

The use of the terms "discount" or "reduced price" in announcements requires compliance with the following conditions:

• the discount or reduction are applied to products directly sold by the entity;
• they are applied for a specified and limited period of time;
• the price of the product is lower than its regular price.

The use of the term "sale" or any other similar terms requires compliance with the following conditions:

• the sale of all goods within a certain place or a clearly defined group of goods is carried out;
• the duration of the sale is limited in time;
• the prices of goods subject to sale are less than their regular price.

No.

After a public announcement of the beginning of the sale or price reduction campaigns, consumers must be informed about the price of products set before the beginning of the relevant sale, application of discounts or price reduction, as well as the price of the same products set after their beginning. Such information should not be misleading, i.e. incomplete, inaccurate or false.

It is prohibited in Ukraine to disseminate misleading information about the products as it is deemed unfair competition practice. According to Art 151 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection Against Unfair Competition”, misleading information includes incomplete, inaccurate, or false data about the price and price discounts, as well as about the essential terms of the contract. The dissemination includes communication by a business entity to one, several, or an unspecified circle of consumers, including in advertising, of incomplete, inaccurate, false information, in particular as a result of the chosen method of presentation, concealment of specific facts or vague wording that may influence the intentions of the consumers to buy a product.

Fines for infringing pricing rules may be imposed by (i) the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for violations of fair competition rules (in the amount of up to 5% of the annual turnover in the year immediately preceding the year when the fine is imposed), (ii) the State Consumers Protection Authority for violating the advertising requirements (five times the value of the advertising containing improper content) and consumer protection laws (in case of misinformation about the price – a fine in the amount of UAH 850 (EUR 20)) as well as (iii) the law enforcement authorities depending on the violation.